Former Tyco CEO Kozlowski denied parole

NEW YORK -- Imprisoned former Tyco CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski lost his first parole bid Thursday as a state board ruled that releasing him now would tend to minimize his corporate crimes and affect public safety.

The decision means the 65-year-old former executive will remain a prison inmate, his status since a 2005 conviction and 8?-to-25-year sentence on charges of looting nearly $600 million in bonuses and other payments from the global products and services firm he once headed.

The case, which resulted in similar charges and conviction of former Tyco CFO Mark Swartz, came to symbolize corporate greed during the bull market of the 1990s.

"This panel concludes that discretionary release is not presently warranted due to concern for the public safety and welfare," the three-member board concluded in a decision presented to Kozlowski one day after a formal parole hearing.

The board said it took notice of Kozlowski's absence of any prior convictions and clean record behind bars, including a merit certificate. However, the panel concluded that early release at this time would "not be compatible with the welfare of society at large, and would tend to deprecate the seriousness" of his offenses.

Kozlowski's next possible parole board hearing won't come until approximately September 2013.

"Mr. Kozlowski is deeply disappointed by the decision of the parole board. Respectfully, he does not agree that his parole would compromise public safety," said his lead attorney, Alan Lewis. The Manhattan District Attorney's office, which prosecuted Kozlowski and opposed his parole, declined to comment.

Kozlowski has maintained his trial was flawed. But the Court of Appeals, New York's top court, upheld his conviction.

Although he remains a prison inmate, Kozlowski was transferred to a minimum-security facility in Manhattan in January when he was approved for a work-release program following five previous denials.

His latest home is less than 2 miles north of the $30 million Fifth Avenue residence where he lived large during his Tyco days — decorating the costly apartment with a now notorious $6,000 shower curtain, a $15,000 umbrella stand and art by Monet and others.